InBox

By DON McALLISTER

Welcome to InBox, where we attempt to answer your internet questions.

Q. Victor's machine refuses to run more than two minutes before it pops up an "NT Shutdown" message and promptly slides into a full system power off.

A. This is one of the prime symptoms of the Blaster worm we warned of last week, Victor. The worm can get into your system if you haven't downloaded the latest security patch from Microsoft's Update site. To rid yourself of the worm try Norton's Blaster removal tool . Microsoft tells all at MS Security.

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Q. Bob asks: "How can I change Outlook to use Microsoft Word as the message editor?"

A. Try Outlook/Tools/Options/Mail Format. Tick the box "Use Microsoft Word to edit e-mail messages".

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Q. Jonathan has tried several times to subscribe to Norton's anti-virus subscription site but it keeps assuming the sale has been completed and asks for the registration code.

A. You've got an incomplete order jammed in the system, Jonathan. I had a hard time finding Norton's solution to the problem but here it is.

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Q. "My computer-shy husband runs an ancient Mac. How can we find out more about it and what printers etc will work with it?" asks Rose.

A. I found this site that contains a program that can tell you almost anything about any version of Mac ever made, Rose.

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Q. Nigel just did the big upgrade to Windows XP and though the transition has, in the main, been an enjoyable process, his Norton SystemWorks 2001 program disagrees.

A. Yes, it's a known issue, Nigel. This software acts in direct conflict with several of XP's security design improvements. Upgrading to SystemWorks 2003 (which is engineered to work with XP) fixes it.


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